Stages to a Crazy Great Love
by blu blade
Summary: (DISCONTINUED) For big time director Roxas, there were set stages that led to the stereotype good life. But after meeting the resistant Axel, Roxas is rewinding every stage he's ever made, in favor of reaching the stages of love.
1. Stage 1: Friends

**Hi there! I'm Blu Blade -applause from a live studio audience- and this is "Stages to a Crazy Great Love!"**

**Warnings: This story is GUARANTEED to have: yaoi pairings, straight pairings, sex, violence, drugs, cursing, italized words at the begining of each chapter representing a flashback, mystery, weird refrences, fluffiness at times and random ranting at the start and finish of each stage.**

**Rating: :announcer from video game commercials: "Rated M for Mature"**

**Disclaimer: :takes deep breath: I do not own: Square-Enix, Square-Soft, Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2, Victoria's Secret, Sailor Moon, James Bond, Harry Potter, Scholastic, Monopoly, Rachel Ray,Cooking Mama, DDR, KFC, Spy Kids or (for the quotes at the start of each stage)**

**Onward young literature seekers, your story awaits!**

* * *

"_It's me or them, Axel. It's always been me or them." He challenged, venom dripping from every word. The clouds above them promised rain, but it hadn't begun yet. It was almost as if it were too waiting for Axel's answer._

"_Please...don't do this. They need me." Axel begged brokenly, grabbing hold of his lover's arm. He stared down at Axel, resolution already displaying on his features before he even said a word._

"_Then you've made your decision."_

"_Wait! Please, come back! I need you! I LOVE YOU!"_

"_Goodbye."_

**Stage One: Friends**

"**I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends."**

**-Walt Whitman (1819-1892)**

Axel Gauken stood in front of Namine's house that morning, armed with his trademark grin and the most comforting bouquet of flowers that money could buy. His weapons of choice however, were both disarmed at the sight of Namine standing in front of him in a pink lacy push-up bra and matching thong, her hair piled sexily on top of her head.

"Uh…did I miss something?" Axel asked, smirking hesitantly at his barely dressed best friend. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew one thing: Victoria had no secrets now.

"Do you think I'm…sexy?" Namine purred seductively, pulling him by his ipod cord into her house. The second the door was closed Namine's lips were on his and somehow her ass was in his hands. Uh...best friends didn't do this, did they?

Last time he checked they didn't.

"Namine, I'm Axel, remember? Your best friend…?" Axel reminded her, gently untangling her from his arms. Namine, her lips swollen and her eyes puffy, pouted pathetically.

"Do I look that bad? So bad you, nor any other guy, would touch me?" Namine made no attempt to hide the whimper that came with her words, immediately bursting into tears. The smirk that had been currently residing on his face instantly faded and was replaced by a comforting smile.

"You miss him, don't you?" Axel asked, placing an innocent kiss to the top of her head. There was a reason he changed the subject; Axel wouldn't have touched Namine to begin with. She was too passive and just too…yeah, passive.

**Profile: Namine Houston**

**Age: 16**

**Aspiration: Artist**

**Really good at: Sailor Moon reenactments**

**Loves: James Bond**

**Hates: School uniforms**

**Best friend: Axel**

"Miss who?" Namine wanted to know, sarcasm coating her words. They both knew full well who 'who' was. And that was Riku Toshiba, Namine's ex-boyfriend and the most popular boy on the island.

The funny thing about Riku was that he started their group of friends, but he never fully committed to them. He always kept himself guarded, or separated somehow. The friends consisted of Axel, Riku, Sora, Kairi and Namine. Sometimes Tidus, Wakka and Selphie were included, but it mostly remained just the five of them.

Namine became interested in Riku when they all first became friends, and went out for two years until yesterday, when Riku broke it off. This left Namine devastated and more than a little confused.

"We had our share of problems, but never severe enough to break up." Namine had told Axel after it had happened, in between huge sobs. Even despite his best friend's broken heart, Axel wasn't mad at Riku, nor planned to ignore him or not hang out with him, against Namine's requests.

"I'm not going to choose sides. This isn't kindergarten." Axel had replied to Namine's protests and screams for loyalty. And that was the end of that.

Besides, Axel knew that Namine didn't plan to stay away from everyone else in the group, and that meant facing Riku. They met up at Riku's house everyday at around five o'clock, and it was four o'clock now. Namine would have to make a choice.

…Her reputation or her friends.

And knowing Namine, she would make the right choice.

But in the meantime, Axel had to raise her spirits and her esteem, and there was only one way to do that.

"Get it all out of your system." Axel commanded quietly, waiting while Namine's sobs turned to hiccups. Finally, she took a deep breath and pulled away, gracing him with a watery smile.

"I'm fine." She assured him, taking one last sniff. Axel's grin suddenly came back.

"That's good, because there's a bouquet of roses and a free make-over with your name on it!" Axel announced, thrusting the flowers into her hands.

The beam that erupted on Namine was enough to power up Bill Gates' personal computer.

* * *

"Namine is going to hate me." Riku groaned from his position on the pure silk couch that accentuated the other numerous expensive pieces in his attic. Yes, his attic. It was the meeting place for him and his friends, and it was five o'clock. That's when they all met to hang out during the summer. But no one had showed so far. 

Usually, they were at his house on the dot, but now, something had changed. Could it be everyone had taken sides and choose Namine's?

Sora too? His Sora? Sora, the most important thing in his life? Sora, whose name he couldn't stop saying?!

**Profile: Riku Toshiba**

**Age: 17**

**Aspiration: Football player**

**Really good at: Everything! (Just about)**

**Loves: Flirting; attention**

**Hates: Fleece**

**Best friend: Sora**

"What are you doing?" A very familiar and very important voice asked from behind him. Riku grinned and got up, preparing for the brunet boy to run into his arms like always, but after a second of hugging air, Riku noticed Sora wasn't paying any attention to him.

Instead he was engrossed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, talking to the piece of literature as if it were a person.

"Hmm…I guess the spoilers are wrong? That's not who I thought was going to die." Sora mumbled, absently sitting next to Riku. "You have so many secrets…how naughty!"

**Profile: Sora Hasaba**

**Age: 15**

**Aspiration: Chef**

**Really good at: Monopoly (and he actually finishes it each time he plays!)**

**Loves: Rachel Ray**

**Hates: Riku being good at everything**

**Best friend: Riku**

"You've been reading this thing for four days straight. Is it that good?" Riku demanded, huffing at the yellow-orange cover jacket.

"Are you mental? It's bloody brilliant!" Sora replied in a British accent. Riku rolled his eyes. Sora had been channeling his inner Ron Weasley from the second he picked up the book; now he wouldn't stop talking like him.

"Whatever. Where are the others?" Riku choose to ask instead, clamping his hands behind his head to avoid the temptation of throwing that book out the window.

"Axel called to tell me that he and Namine would be a little late, but everyone else should be here soon." Sora answered, his gorgeous blue eyes still glued firmly to the Webster sized book. Riku clenched his jaw. Sora was declaring war by spending all his time with that book instead of him. Fine…if it was a war he wanted... it was a war he would get.

"Sora…" Riku breathed huskily, letting his bangs fall in his aqua-marine eyes. Sora stiffened at the seductive tone, slowly peeling his eyes from the page.

"Huh...?" Sora blushed, clutching his book instinctively to his chest. Riku leaned over and ran his finger slowly down Sora's lower chest, careful not to startle him too much. It seemed to have the opposite effect on his friend, however. There was no mistaking the sudden tremble or the lidded eyes and parted lips. Not to mention the quiet moan in his throat.

"Sora." Riku sighed against Sora's neck, his lips brushing against a sensitive spot neither of them knew was there. This time Sora's moan was no longer quiet. No, it was loud, eager and demanding, demanding for more surges of pleasure.

But instead of giving Sora what he wanted, Riku pulled away, to both of their dismay.

If there was one thing Riku knew, it was that he had to build a bridge before he could get across an ocean. That ocean, unfortunately, was Sora's virginity.

And the bridge had to be a real relationship. And that meant taking things slow…and leaving Sora always wanting more.

Riku stole a glance at Sora and couldn't fight the smirk off his face. Sora just looked so adorably confused and so damned turned on, it nearly made Riku take him right then and there.

Luckily he was saved by a goddess, whose mere presence demanded to be acknowledged.

"What are you two doing up here? Don't you know the new kid is moving in today?" Kairi exclaimed, her long strawberry blond hair tumbling on her shoulders gracefully like a ray of sunshine.

**Profile: Kairi Nabisco**

**Age: 15**

**Aspiration: Dancer**

**Really good at: Cooking Mama **

**Loves: Yaoi**

**Hates: Blood**

**Best friend: Selphie; Kairi usually ends up as the back-up best friend**

"Kairi! Uh…um, we were just…ah, leaving! Yeah, so let's go get Axel and Namine and be on our way!" Sora cried, jumping up away from Riku and pulling Kairi back down the stairs that led to Riku's living room.

"So you're running away? I don't mind…for now." Riku murmured. Then, like a man harboring an intense secret, Riku plastered on a fake smile and followed his two fifteen year old friends out of his house.

* * *

"Is this really me?" Namine asked shyly, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Axel placed a careful kiss on her forehead, as to not smear her make-up. 

"See, you don't need a man to be sexy. Just look at yourself." Axel whistled, shaking his head. "If I wasn't batting for the other team…man."

Axel, being the skilled hair dresser he was, had a field day with Namine's hair. It was so accessible! First he added honey and dirty blond highlights to her too blond hair and curled it in Shirley Temple curls. But they both decided it wasn't sexy enough on her. So he brushed out the curls and transformed them into silky waves worthy of a Treseme commercial.

He managed to convince Namine to wear the short white strapless dress and heels as well. It took a few blows to the stomach but he managed.

"Thank you so much Axel. What would I do without you?" Namine seemed on the verge of tears. Okaaaay….it was only a make-over.

"Oh, I don't know, _live_…?" Axel smirked, switching off the lights and heading down the stairs to the door. He didn't have to turn around to see that she was following him.

Back when she was a freshman, he couldn't go anywhere without her following him. Shy little Namine that wouldn't speak to anyone except Axel for some reason; it was beyond weird. He and Riku did everything in their power to get rid of her, but she wouldn't take a hint. But one day, they found Seifer and his gang picking on her…and they realized how much she was apart of their lives.

Still, even now, even as Seifer stopped picking on her and friends had been added to their trio, she followed him like a puppy.

It was…cute. But it wasn't cute when he was trying to flirt and she was right there.

"Don't say that Axel! What a loser!" or "Remember when you totally pissed on yourself that one time when you watched Hostel?" She always mumbled way too loudly to which the guy would break out in giggles and turn away. Grr…

"Axel? You're talking to yourself again. And open the door. Someone's pounding on it like a monster is chasing them." Namine broke him out of his past reverie.

The second he opened the door, Sora flew in, yanking Axel and Namine out the door and running back down the driveway.

"What're you doing?" Axel and Namine both asked at the same time, un-phased. Sora was like this all the time.

"Must get away from Riku…must not be alone with him…" Sora breathed out. Namine and Axel both stopped, staring at him like he was a lunatic.

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, everyone knows you like him." Namine wanted to know, casually changing directions towards the growing crowd.

"NO! RIKU'S OVER THERE!" Sora shrieked, causing the majority of those in the crowd to look over at them. Axel conveniently stepped away from Sora. He did NOT know him….

"Well, luckily for you, we aren't going over there for Riku. We're going to see what the fuss is about." Namine told Sora seriously, flashing Axel a thumbs up sign behind her back. He smirked. That little sneak.

"O-okay…" Sora sniffed, taking Namine's hand like a little boy who wanted to try on his mom's dress and made a huge scene, but later was told he could.

...Wait what? Jeez, Axel had a vivid imagination.

"Axel!" A high pitched, cheerful voice squealed from somewhere in front of him. He knew that voice. And Sora knew that voice. This was why he hastily ducked under their feet and crawled deeper into the crowd.

"Selphie!" Namine squealed, throwing her arms around the younger girl. Sure enough, Kairi was right beside Selphie, and Riku was right beside Kairi.

And Sora figured all of that out just by seeing Selphie.

**Profile: Selphie Tamaki**

**Age: 15**

**Aspiration: Model**

**Really good at: Dance Dance Revolution**

**Loves: Anything yellow**

**Hates: KFC Boneless Teriyaki Wings**

**Best friend: Kairi; Wakka and Tidus**

"Axel, I forgot to tell you! Wakka and Tidus wanted to meet the new kid, and I just couldn't say no!" Selphie explained cheerfully. Tidus and Wakka suddenly appeared beside a bored looking Riku, both wearing happy smiles.

"He's here! Did you see him?!" Tidus exclaimed, tugging on Axel's sleeve.

"He was like royalty, ya?" Wakka added as he grabbed Axel's other arm.

**Profile: Tidus Pecht**

**Age: 16**

**Aspiration: Undecided**

**Really good at: Blitzball**

**Loves: Different colored eyes **

**Hates: Camping**

**Best friend: Wakka; Selphie**

"Yeah?" Axel asked, teasing Wakka.

"Ya." Obviously he didn't get it.

**Profile: Wakka Tetsuga**

**Age: 17**

**Aspiration: Blitzball star**

**Really good at: Listening**

**Loves: Spy Kids**

**Hates: Homework**

**Best friend: Tidus; Selphie**

"Royalty, you say? Let me see." Namine smirked, which was completely uncharacteristic of her. Axel helplessly followed her, being pushed to the front by Wakka and Tidus' insistent arms.

"You chased Sora away again? Man, what a monster." Kairi commented absently to Riku. He responded by turning to stare at her. A long pause followed and Kairi felt the silence begin to weigh on her. "What?!"

"So where is he? Oh, a limo. Well, a simple limo doesn't make him…" Namine's voice faded as she stared at the figure that was standing by the limo. "…Royalty."

"See, I told you Tidus, ya?" Wakka said proudly, letting go of Axel's arm. Tidus just shrugged, but he didn't take his eyes of his best friend. "…Royalty." He muttered.

"I don't see him." Axel pronounced lamely, wrenching his arm out of Tidus' grasp. Unfortunately it caused his arm to swing in Namine's direction, and she caught it without even looking. "What the heck!"

"Axel…the new kid…I think I love him." Namine quivered, clutching his arm like it was a pillow. She squealed.

"Namine get a hold of yourself!" Axel ordered uncomfortably. He'd never seen Namine like this. She was always so calm and collected…nothing like this. It freaked him out a little. Almost as if she heard his thoughts, Namine whipped around to face him, a serious look on her face.

"I'm acting like a horny school girl, aren't I?" She asked soberly. Axel, feeling quite helpless again, could only nod. Namine shut her eyes briefly before snapping them open and pointing them at him.

"I knew it. I'm in no condition to talk to him like this. I mean, he's not even real!" She laughed at this, tossing her head back and snorting.

They all stared at her. "Namine, he's real." Tidus said quietly, averting his eyes from Wakka's glance.

"No, you don't understand. That's my dream guy. He'll disappear if I talk to him!" She nearly shouted. Axel glanced around. People were beginning to stare at them.

"Axel! Why don't you go talk to him, you know, to check if he's real?" Kairi suggested as she caught up to them, Riku in tow. He didn't look very happy with her.

"Kairi-" Riku began but Namine interrupted him before he could say anything.

"That's a great idea! I'll give you a little boost!" Namine squealed again, but this time she abruptly let go of his arm and shoved him out towards the limo, and the figure.

"Whooooa!" Axel exclaimed as he slammed right into the figure, unconsciously grabbing his arm for balance.

And as he winced, his scrunched up eyes were able to see the figure clearly now.

Namine, Tidus, Wakka…all of them…were right.

He was royalty.

He was a dream guy.

But the most important adjective to describe him…what was it…it was on the tip of his tongue…

**He was real. **

* * *

**Yay! I finished my first chapter of my first fanfic! Whoohoo! Did you like it? Are you going to continue reading? Am I being annoying? Is the sky blue? All this and more will be answered in Stage Two, if you're game enough to keep up!**

**Next Stage: A Good First Impression**


	2. Stage 2: A Good First Impression

**Another update! And so quickly, might I add. I figured that the first chapter was more of an introduction to the characters, therefore it wasn't really enough to leave you story drinkers quenched. Or whatever that means...**

**By the way, if you can somehow imagine the first chapter, imagine it like the begining sequence to Final Fantasy X-2 where it's all YUNA after she sings and RIKKU after she beats up that guy. Only with my profiles. (Dorky, I know.)**

**I would say that cookies go to Dark-Sephy and Idrymytear54u but unfortunately I'm saving up my money for an official Roxas T-Shirt from their merchandise store thing. So instead I'll give you guys virtual hugs! You two really made my day, since those were my first reviews ever!**

* * *

"_If you can film people while they are being obnoxious or rude, you can film anything." The man whispered to Roxas as they stood in the middle of the sidewalk._

_Roxas held up the child sized video camera nervously, glancing into it briefly before turning back to the man._

"_Won't it embarrass them?" Roxas asked hesitantly. He wasn't hesitant for fear of the brick, or the whip, or even being cut by the knife. No, he knew the man could do him no harm in the public, not with his reputation as high as it was. _

_Roxas was hesitant for what would happen when he began to film. It scared him sometimes, what he was becoming. Once he found something interesting to film, he filmed it, disregarding others' feelings or how it would affect their lives._

_The man did not teach him humanity._

_Therefore Roxas did not have it._

_And that was why, during these early stages, Roxas was hesitant to use his gift. It could destroy him far worse than the man ever could._

**Stage Two: A Good First Impression**

**The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.**

**-Carl Jung (1875-1961)**

Roxas stepped out of the elegant white limousine that morning, armed with a determined smile and the most advanced video camera money could buy. His weapons of choice however, were both disarmed at the sight of what literally appeared to be the entire neighborhood.

"What did you expect, Roxas, looking all sexy and suave coming out of the limo like that?" His best friend and limo driver, Hayner whispered in his ear. That only seemed to make Roxas even more self-conscious. Some best friend he was!

Hayner was his best friend back in Twilight City, his old home. They hadn't been BEST friends long, but Roxas had recently promoted him, so to speak. Hayner originally started off being his limo driver, but after inviting him to sit in the front seat, they got to talking. And after that, they became inseparable.

Hayner had his own style though. He couldn't stand violence, Roxas loved violence. He loved army colors and apparel, Roxas hated the style. Hayner liked to have one night stands and flings, not to mention his ever changing hair. Roxas had more of a reserved persona, only having flings occasionally, and his hair remained in it's combed over, neatly shaped style.

But you know what they say. Opposites attract.

"Uh…hello?" Roxas tried, giving the people a little wave. Immediately everyone turned to the individual next to them and began to whisper in a completely obvious and rude way. But Roxas wasn't fazed…in fact, he was inspired!

Thanks citizens of Destiny Drive, for being so rude!

Destiny Drive…that's where Roxas was going to be living from now on…was a large neighborhood in the center of Fate Island. It was the biggest and most expensive neighborhood on the entire island, and it seemed to contain the most teenagers.

Not that it mattered. Roxas had never been able to stomach teens and their hormones much.

Okay, okay, so he was fifteen. Still! His opinion stood!

"This is what I like to call, 'unnecessary rudeness.'" Roxas spoke quietly into his camera, filming the oblivious gossipers. Hayner snorted as he passed him, carrying their luggage into the fairly large house that now belonged to his best friend. Hayner knew Roxas enough to know when his friend was pissed, and today was just one of those days.

Making sure his camera was not turned off yet, Roxas placed the item around his neck using the harness, a little annoyed. He hated rude people. They repulsed him. It was like, did their parents not teach them manners? It was an entirely different story, of course, if they actually didn't have anyone to teach them manners, but most rude people DID.

And that repulsed him.

Roxas turned to the house, taking in its previously used appearance, noting the subtle but visible indicators. The hinges were tilted and peeling. The flowers looked like someone had walked along and cut off all of the petals through some sick, flower torturing fetish. And don't even get him started on what was supposed to be a roof. Did someone fall through it? There were about three medium sized holes smiling down at him.

But repairing a used house was just another stage of his life. See, Roxas always had this idea that there were set stages that a person had to go through in order to obtain the quote on quote, "good life."

That was actually the reason he came to Fate Island. He heard many good things about the place, like the fact that it was so open in its views many groups of people who had been discriminated against simply flocked to it. In fact, Roxas heard that the majority of the people there had at least three people in the family who were attracted to one of the same gender. But that wasn't the reason he was here.

He was here because Roxas had yet to live life in a small, close net group of people. Being good director meant he had to have experiences of all kinds. Besides, if Roxas planned to make a movie about the stages of life, he had to make sure he was going through the rural ones as well, and not just the urban.

Anyway, preparing to follow Hayner into the house, Roxas spun on the heel of his battered converses, kicking up dirt as he did so. But something grabbed his arm, forbidding him to move. What the-

"Whoa! Sorry about that, new kid! My best friend, Namine, pushed me. She was under the illusion that you were the man of her dreams, and therefore not real. Not the brightest banana in the bunch, right? No, no, I tease, I tease. She's actually pretty smart-" Apparently the something that had grabbed him was not a_ thing _at all. It was a _he_. A red-headed, confident,_ beautiful_ he.

"Uh…" Roxas found himself unable to say anything but that one line of stupidity. This guy…he was beautiful!

He had wild, shoulder-length red hair that stuck up slightly in the back that brought out the clear _ridiculously green_ eyes of his. It reminded him of the grass that sprouted up on the football fields when the early days of spring had just begun. It was _that_ green.

Anyway, he was wearing a black AC/DC shirt, which accentuated his faint muscles quite perfectly. The faded, slightly baggy jeans he was wearing added to the look to bring a complete, dazzling effect to his presence.

"I'm Axel. I live right next door to you. Oh, and don't mind the neighbors. They like to gossip, but they aren't trying to be rude. Well, I mean I guess it is rude to do it in front of the person. But you've got to admit that takes guts!" Axel chuckled, punching Roxas in the arm. That hurt!

"Right… Well, I'm Roxas." Roxas introduced himself, masking the pain. Being a director, he found it fitting that he was also an excellent actor.

Axel seemed to mull the name in his head for a while. Finally, he looked right into Roxas' eyes, causing his heart to literally stop beating.

"You're the guy who made the movie about the boy who could wield a keyblade?" Axel asked, but it was more of a statement than anything else.

"It was great! Wait, great isn't a strong enough word to describe how awesome it was. How about, it was _crazy_ great?" Axel complimented him enthusiastically. Roxas actually found himself blushing. He wasn't recognized often for his accomplishments, so when he was, he never knew how to handle them.

"Oh, uh, I…thanks." Roxas sputtered, chewing on his thumb nail. It was what he did when he didn't know what to do. It was a horrible habit, he'd had enough nail infections to know that, but he never could resist it.

Axel blinked at him and gave him a strange look before awarding Roxas with a pat on the back. Unfortunately Roxas was so light he toppled over, almost smashing his beloved camera. Axel looked embarrassed.

"Oops, I'm so sorry Mr. Roxas." He stammered, helping the boy from the ground. Roxas fought back the urge to growl. He didn't like being touched and he especially didn't like his camera being fumbled around with, even on accident.

"I'm fifteen." Roxas sneered at the other teen beside him, giving him an irritated glare. He wasn't an adult _yet_, for goodness sake. Roxas' annoyance seemed to bring back his voice. Axel seemed to be taken aback.

"Actually, now that I look at you, you look about twelve years old. I just kind of assumed you were an adult, because of your talent…" He faltered upon noticing the face of the growlingly pissed off director.

"That's what a lot of people tend to think. That because of my age or my size I must not be adequate or professional or talented. It's all a form of judgment, and that's not something I want to encounter from my new home, and especially not from a peer." Roxas finally snapped, clutching his camera. It gave him a sense of power, and maybe a little bit of inferiority over this teen, who seemed to have labeled him already.

"Age is nothing but a number, Axel. Remember that the next time we meet and maybe some good karma will flash your way. Excuse me." Roxas finished, striding into the house past the now silent neighborhood residents.

Hayner, who had been watching their exchange from the open door, offered Roxas his sandwich as he passed, but his friend simply strode on by, not bothering to speak to him.

Upon hearing one of the bedroom doors slam, Hayner slunk sadly into the plastic covered couch, grabbing his cell phone and dialing the numbers he knew by heart.

A pause as a few rings went by unanswered. Finally a woman's voice filled the silence on her end as she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Hayner. Listen, I believe you now."

"So you agree to help Roxas fall in love, despite your feelings for him?"

Another pause, as Hayner considered what he was giving up.

"Yes. And I know the perfect candidate for Roxas' lover."

"Already? Who?"

"His name is Axel."

* * *

It wasn't until Axel was lying down on his black king-sized bed, staring up at the ceiling that he realized this Roxas guy was absolutely beautiful. 

Wait, what? Axel mentally slapped his forehead. He was NOT going to fall for the new kid again. It just created unwanted drama…and he had more than enough drama in his life.

Still, those eyes! Such a unique color of cerulean! Axel had never seen that shade before. It was like a metallic colored sky blue…it was so complex, yet simple. Just like Roxas himself.

And there he went again, thinking of Roxas. It wasn't like he was his long lost lover reincarnated or anything! They'd just met! Why is he so strung up on him, then?

"This is impossible!" Axel groaned. Fine, if he couldn't figure this out, Namine definitely could. He began to dial a couple of digits that led to her cell phone number, but a thought occurred to him: Namine liked Roxas. She wouldn't take too kindly to Axel having these thoughts about him, obviously.

Great. Namine was his best friend. If he couldn't talk to her, who would he talk to? There was Riku, sure, but Riku seemed to be guarded around everyone but Sora. That didn't stop him from telling Axel all of his secrets, though. So did that mean it was okay to return the favor? He had to try.

After punching in the numbers, Axel held his breath as he waited for Riku to pick up.

_Ring._

This wasn't a good idea.

_Ring._

What if Riku thought he was a horrible guy for thinking about Roxas when Namine so obviously liked the guy?

_Ring.  
_

Riku wouldn't pick up. Why should he? He wasn't Sora…

"Hello?"

Then again, Riku wasn't such a bad guy. He was a guy with more inheritance money than Paris Hilton, but chose to hang out with the less fortunate.

"HELLO?"

But still, Axel had never told Riku he was bi. Namine and Kairi were the only two that knew he also liked guys. He just never wanted to freak out Sora and Riku.

"Axel? Is that you? I can hear you mumbling to yourself, you loser." Riku scoffed, fumbling with the phone on his end. Axel immediately stopped mumbling and blinked. Oh! Riku was on the phone!

"Oops. Hi, Riku! Sorry about that." Axel apologized, letting the butterflies in his stomach subside for a moment as Riku laughed. He liked hearing Riku laugh. It was a rare treat for anyone who was friends with him. Even for Sora.

"Don't worry about it; it's one of your habits that I've gotten used to. So, what's up?" Riku finally asked, going right into Axel's reason for calling. Not that Riku would say it like that. Riku may be arrogant and cocky, but he wasn't rude.

"I wanted to ask you a personal question. And don't take it seriously or anything, I was just curious. Actually, I wasn't curious at all. A friend of mine was curious, and-"

Axel rambled until Riku stopped him by clearing his throat.

"Get on with it."

"Have you ever…have your ever thought about guys in_ that_ way?" Axel started. He'd figured this was as good a question as ever to begin with. There was silence on Riku's end, but he could hear his steady breathing.

"Why?" Riku asked instead. Axel rolled his eyes. He was so guarded sometimes. It was a yes or no question.

"I don't know. I was just thinking about the new kid and everything…" Axel said.

"What's that have to do with my sexuality?" Riku wanted to know.

"Nothing! I just thought maybe you guys would make a good couple." Axel lied. It really was a huge lie. They would be a horrible couple. Roxas and Riku seemed almost too similar.

"Oh really?" It didn't take a genius to hear Riku's trademark smirk. "Because by what I saw, you and the new kid had some serious chemistry."

What?! What in the world did Riku see? Axel recalled being scolded and scowled at by the perfect blond for accidentally pushing him.

"But…yes." Riku said after a pause.

"Huh?" Axel asked confused. What was he talking about?

"Yes, Axel, I have thought about guys in that way. Actually, one guy in particular." Riku confessed. Axel thought he could hear Riku running his hand through his hair, a dead giveaway that he was stressed out about something.

Wait a minute…was Riku throwing him a come hither?!

"Uh…Riku, you know…you're an attractive guy, but uh…you're not exactly my type." Axel stammered, blushing slightly. He heard Riku scoff.

"And you're not my type either, loser. I was talking about Sora." He corrected him. Axel reeled back in shock. WHOA! Riku had a thing for Sora?

"Our Sora? Cute little Sora who thought a condom was a type of sock?" Axel exclaimed, raising his eyebrows.

Last summer when Sora was an incoming freshman and Axel and Riku were both incoming sophomores, they had decided to go out and buy condoms. Sora had bought the jumbo sized box and Axel and Riku each bought large. When they got back to Riku's house to try them on, they both emerged out the bathroom to see Sora wearing the condoms on his feet.

So naïve, that one was.

"I don't know... it's endearing that he's so innocent! Don't tell anyone this, but it makes me want to taint him." Riku whispered. Axel processed this in silence until he realized what Riku meant by 'tainting him.'

"God, Riku! Don't you think that's crossing the line?" Axel demanded, feeling a little dirty at his friend's confession. Jeez, they weren't _that_ close!

"I can't help it! I want to hear him moan and cry out my name in ecstasy while I take his precious virginity. Then when he's ready, I want to screw him against every surface of my house _raw. _And I'll be sure to decorate his neck in visible, attractive love bites that let everyone at school know that he belongs to me." Riku growled into the phone, getting all hot and bothered.

Riku paused upon hearing silence from the other end. "Axel?"

Axel had hung up on him the second he'd heard Riku moan.

* * *

Roxas sat in his all white bedroom, watching the day's footage. There were a lot of scenery scenes from when he was sitting idly in the back of the limo, since Hayner never let him ride in the front seat during long trips. He supposed he could call that stage: Environment. He fast forwarded through all of that. 

Then there was when they entered the neighborhood. Down around the beach area there were two children, splashing in the waves with a tall blond boy with a weird mullet. Stage: Family.

Roxas fast forwarded some more.

They passed a less fortunate part of the island, to which Hayner wryly tried to speed up until Roxas stopped him.

"No. This is beauty in its ruins." Roxas replied to Hayner's questions of why they were stopping. Roxas had lowered the window and coaxed a man to talk to him, by cocking a finger.

"Excuse me sir, but do you mind telling me the reason you are living in a part of town less fortunate?" Roxas wanted to know, indicating to the video camera. The man, probably in his late twenties, smirked into the camera. He had an eye patch over one eye and an unnatural grey streak in his dark unruly hair.

"Sure. I'm Xigbar McCoy, twenty-seven years old and deathly bankrupt. The reason I'm so broke leads to one simple conclusion," Saix paused, turning to the other men who had gathered to see the commotion, "Thirteen Hearts, Inc."

Stage: Failure.

Roxas laughed, as did the rest of the men and tapped Hayner for him to move on, but not before handing out a single hundred dollar bill to each of the nine men standing there. Roxas may be emotionless, but he wasn't cold-hearted.

Stage: Generosity.

And last on the tape there was the "moving in masquerade" as Roxas liked to call it. He had managed to film his little encounter with Axel. Watching it again, Roxas was able to dissect every choice of words that Axel had used and the body language to go with it.

Axel hadn't been trying to offend him at all! In fact, he looked more embarrassed and offended of the two. Perhaps Roxas had judged this Axel character too quickly?

Stage: Stereotypes. But Roxas had never truly partaken in that sort of stage before. Could it be that Axel was bringing out the side of him that he had locked away?

* * *

**Does anyone else find Mr. I-Have-A-Stick-In-My-Butt Roxas a tad bit OOC? I do, but I just can't stop! His personality is taking a mind of its own! Stage three will bring on the chatting skills of one hesitant red head and one serious blond cutie!**

**Next Stage: Communication**


	3. Stage 3: Communication

**Yay! I got a hefty number of hits in total :moonwalks: So sorry this story is going kind of slow, plot wise, but it should pick up by chapter six. Actually, being the writer :pauses for the audience to cheer: I already know it will. I just want to get all of this stuff out of the open. I kind of like this chapter better than the first two...I hope you do too!**

**Thanks again to my reviewers! Darkest Soul of Sadness (Thank you! Roxas is pretty hard to write!) and Idrymytear54u (Riku's not dirty! He's just...yeah, dirty ; ) I like Aerosmith too)**

**So here we go!**

* * *

"_If you ever see a man on the street and he's bleeding, what do you do?" He asked Roxas, glaring down at him with his cold distinct eyes._

"_I help him." Roxas answered without thinking, almost as if it were a stupid question. The man stood up and walked to his closet, fumbling around for a certain object. Unfortunately, Roxas knew exactly what the object was._

"_NO!" He gasped and attempted to flee, but the man already had the object out, and had him in a death grip. "Not again!"_

"_Yes again! And we'll continue to do this again until you become what I need you to become! Don't you understand, Roxas? Don't you understand what you must do?"_

"_Violence isn't beauty! Violence is wrong!" Roxas cried, but it did no good. The brick came down on him almost as fast as lighting touches the ground._

**Stage Three: Communication**

"**I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up."**

**-Tom Lehrer (1928-)**

Roxas felt the first few rays of sunrise hit his face as his eyes fluttered, almost as if deciding whether or not to stay asleep or to wake up. He opened his eyes fully, taking in the unfamiliar environment with curious eyes before reaching over and grabbing his video camera. Turning it on and automatically pressing the record button, he cleared his throat and spoke clearly into it, filming his surroundings.

"Another dream about him..." The emptiness of his room seemed to reflect the hollow feeling in his heart at the moment. He didn't understand it. He didn't want it.

But Lord knows he wasn't going to dwell on it.

"Sulking is for emos." Roxas muttered before switching off the camera and striding towards the closet. What to wear...what did the kids around here wear? Axel had simply worn a black shirt and some torn up baggy jeans when he met him...but could Roxas rock that?

Those clothes on Axel made him look sexy and badass...and the way he flashed those muscles so subtly that Roxas almost didn't see them, but he _did_, and oh boy...

Rustling downstairs reminded Roxas he was not alone. And definitely not authorized to be thinking those types of thoughts about his neighbor; thoughts like that were dangerous, if his father hadn't taught him anything else, it was that.

Anyway, the point was, Roxas couldn't look badass. But he didn't want to seem like a total loser in front of the whole neighborhood. He would have to get help for someone to assist dressing him.

"Hayner?" Roxas called out, opening the door a crack. He wasn't sure if he was there or not, since Hayner, always the wild one, tended to have affairs everywhere they went. It was a wonder he hadn't caught anything yet. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What do you need? A ride?" Hayner yelled back up. He must have been downstairs. Roxas shuffled towards the stairs to meet his friend, peering down at him over the banister.

"More like a favor." Roxas winced, chewing on his thumb nail. Hayner seemed to redden for some reason before nodding furiously. Okaaaay...

"Anything for you, Roxas." Hayner said expectantly. Roxas cocked his head at him slightly. It sounded like he wanted him to say something specific. But Roxas had no idea what Hayner meant, so he asked his original question.

"Can you somehow attain Axel's number for me?" Roxas asked. Hayner felt his heart break in millions of little pieces. Granted, he told the woman he would help Roxas find happiness with Axel, but still...not _this_ fast.

But as Roxas stood on the banister in a ridiculously long t-shirt he slept in, chewing his thumbnail and pouting slightly, Hayner knew he could never say no to him.

"Sure."

* * *

"Namine, I told you already, I'm not in the matchmaking business anymore. I did that shit last year and ended up in a huge web of lies. No." Axel paused as he waited for Namine to respond to his announcement. She wanted to be hooked up with Roxas, but seeing that Roxas didn't seem to take a liking to him, he saw that impossible. 

Besides, maybe he didn't want for Namine to be with Roxas.

"Stop pretending to cry! You're not Sora...what! _I'm_ being unreasonable! I'm the one who-" Axel heard a beep on his end of the phone. He had someone on his other line.

Axel shifted into a more comfortable position on his giant red fuzzy carpet. He had to be prepared for whoever that was, and the only way he could was to be comfy. His room itself was pretty comfy. Forest green walls covered in pictures of friends and hairstyles and red carpet so large it was enough to make the stiffest old man sigh in ecstasy.

"Namine, hold on for a second." Axel told her swiftly before clicking over.

"Hello?" He asked into the phone, curious. He knew it wasn't Riku, Tidus, Wakka, Kairi or Sora, since they all slept in late on Mondays during the summer. And Namine was on his other line. So that left Selphie or...

Axel gulped.

When he was met with silence, he timidly tried, "Roxas?"

"Yeah...hello Axel." Roxas spoke clearly into the phone. WHOA! What was he doing?! Axel thought for sure that Roxas didn't like him, and now he was calling him? What was going on?! This had to be a trick, right? Riku, no... Riku couldn't have done it...and it sounded JUST like Roxas.

"This is Roxas, in case you didn't remember my voice or whatever from the other day." Roxas continued, ignoring the blunt silence from Axel, "I was wondering if you could come over to my house and...Assist me in picking out the appropriate attire needed for this environment."

Axel sat there for a second, running Roxas' words through a translator and translating them into normal kid speech. "You want me to help you pick out some threads?"

Roxas let out a terse laugh. "Yes, I need some cool threads."

Axel scratched his head. Was that all he needed? Roxas wanted to look cool? He already had the cool appearance down pat. He didn't need Axel.

But this was a chance to get to know the real Roxas Hiatus, the man behind the camera.

"Uh, sure..." Axel agreed slowly. There was an uncomfortable silence before Roxas finally cleared his throat loudly.

"Right. Well, goodbye." Roxas began to click off but panic shot through Axel, telling him not to let him leave.

"_Wait! Please, come back! I need you! I LOVE YOU!"_

"Wait, Roxas! Please!" Axel exclaimed brokenly, memories of what had hurt him in the past coming back to him from that one word.

_Goodbye._

"What? I'm here!" Roxas snapped at him, a small waver of concern hidden beneath his words. Axel knew he had to seem like the weirdest thing in the world after that little moment. He had to smooth over this conversation.

"Uh...um...why did you call me to help you with your clothes? I'm not that cool." Axel wondered out loud, getting up and looking at his reflection in the mirror. He really wasn't. He just knew the right people and was befriended by the most popular boy in school. He himself wasn't a grand addition to anyone.

"I don't know, Axel, I haven't been here very long, but I think you're pretty special." Roxas replied not too long after Axel asked him the question. It was like he didn't even have to think about it.

Axel blushed. It'd been a while since anyone made him blush. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It wasn't a compliment, it was the truth. Now hurry up." And with that, Roxas clicked off the phone.

* * *

"Was I too obvious?" Roxas suddenly asked himself aloud, staring at the disconnected phone in his hands. He had never questioned himself before, but what was he supposed to do? Lie? Allow this Axel fellow to think so lowly of himself? 

"It didn't mean anything. Special can be interpreted to many things." Roxas responded to his own question, glancing at his reflection once more in the mirror. He wasn't the kind of guy to instantly be interested in someone. And usually if he did like a guy, it was a confident, sure-of-himself kind of guy. Axel seemed a tad bit unstable.

Wait…why was he questioning himself?

And ever since he judged him too early, Roxas had been questioning himself on little things. Take, for instance, when Hayner had order Chinese food for them, he had gotten Roxas three egg rolls and General Tao's chicken. But as he looked at it, Roxas realized that he had never eaten any other of the choices on the menu. This is what his father would order for him, not what Roxas choose the first time he'd eaten Chinese food.

Or later that day, when Roxas was combing his hair for the night, neatly combed over with a part in the middle, he had thought of Axel's vibrant, flamboyant red hair that seemed to defy gravity. Could Roxas say he had ever done his hair in a unique style that defined him? The answer was no. But then again, the question was so random that Roxas had lain in bed nearly all night wondering why he even thought of it.

"Why am I even thinking about that?" Roxas asked himself loudly, huffing and stalking to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Still, even as he brushed his teeth, he wondered if the stages of life had been stages of his father. Had everything he'd experience been purposeful? Controlled, even?

"UGH!" Roxas shouted, throwing up his arms. STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS SHIT!

Fine. Roxas didn't want to have to do this, but if these thoughts continued to persist he would have to get out his most dangerous distracter.

* * *

Sora stared at his reflection in the mirror, glaring at what he saw. Kairi was next to Sora, smiling at what she saw. And Riku was next to Kairi, smirking at what he saw. 

Sora didn't know what_ they_ saw, but all _he_ saw was a brunet blue-eyed boy in a tight pink dress.

"I'm taking it off! This is humiliating! What if the other guys saw me in this?! What if…RIKU!" Sora suddenly stopped in his whining to gape at his friend, no scratch that, _ex_-friend, as he snapped a picture of him with his digital camera. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Don't act so shocked, Sora. We all know what you did last summer." Kairi teased, looking every bit of evil as Riku did when he smirked. Sora narrowed his eyes at his two sadistic best friends.

"I needed the money. It was a perfectly respectable summer job!" Sora hissed at her. But it didn't matter. Riku and Kairi were completely oblivious to Sora, dancing to The Way I Are by Timberland, practically grinding! He looked away, pouting.

Although Sora had to admit, the atmosphere was totally there. Even though his walls were covered in pictures of him and his friends over the years, his room had a club like quality to it, what with all of the neon lights and the disco styled floor.

But still…Riku didn't have to hump Kairi right in front of him. He wasn't jealous, though! He was just….

…Jealous…?

Sora was so deep in thought however, his nose wrinkled and his eyes focused on the ceiling, that he didn't notice the song change or Riku trading Kairi with him. It wasn't until he felt Riku's…um, _member_, on his butt that he noticed he was pressed up against him.

"What the-Riku!" Sora exclaimed, squirming to get away, but Riku already had a firm grip on Sora's waist, fitting him perfectly adjacent to him. Kairi sat on his queen sized bed, winking her clear blue eyes at him.

"It's _Promiscuous_, Sora. You_ have_ to dance to it! It isn't Riku's fault you have a kick-ass iPod mix." Kairi pointed out, grinning slightly at Sora's reddened cheeks.

"But do we have to _grind_?!" He cried. Kairi and Riku both laughed. Sora knew that laugh. It was the laugh of the devil. Even so, a little voice in his head was telling him he liked having Riku's body pressed up against him like that.

No, no, wait. That was Riku whispering in his ear. Sora's blush intensified.

"Alright Sora. Just move your hips when I move mine. Like this-" Riku moved his hips slightly to demonstrate. Sora moved his along with him. As the song played, it was a little awkward and a little embarrassing, what with Kairi staring at them like that, but after a while, Sora got lost in the music and the beat, and completely forgot she was there.

"Sora…how do you feel?" Riku asked lowly in his ear, running his hands down Sora's thighs. In response, Sora grinded deeper in Riku, loving the heat against his body and loving the moan that exited Riku; this was _great_…

"It feels _so good_." Sora groaned in answer to Riku's question, as if the arching of his back wasn't enough of an answer. "So…good…"

"Sora…don't." Riku breathed after a minute. Sora tilted his head over his shoulder to be eye level with Riku, unwilling to leave the position his body was already in. Riku leaned in closer, his lips almost touching Sora's.

"Don't what?" Sora mumbled, nothing but Riku occupying his mind.

"Don't do this…with _anyone_ else." He growled, his lips diving in for the kill. Sora leaned up on his toes, so he could easily access Riku's lips.

Kairi was watching all of this with a deep blush and a wide smirk. But her mistake: she leaned forward a little too much, trying to get a better look. Sora's bed creaked loud and long, announcing its presence to the world. And unfortunately, the mood was ruined.

Their lips had just _**barely**_ touched when Sora sprung apart from Riku, his whole body flushed and his gaze fuzzy. He felt dizzy, almost as if he had drunk three bottles on Hennessey. Deep breaths…

Riku glared pointedly at Kairi, who was wincing. Damn those extra pounds she'd gained over the summer! She was definitely going on a diet.

Malchik Gay by t.A.T.u began to play in the background, because Sora wasn't embarrassed enough.

He didn't like Riku! He didn't like Riku! Sora Hasaba did NOT like Riku Toshiba.

Riku retreated to Sora's kitchen to get them all a glass of cold water. When he came back, he treated Sora to one of those rare smiles that no one ever got to really see, unless you counted his smirks. It caused Sora to flush again,_ right_ when he got it down.

Okay…maybe he liked him a little.

* * *

"YUUUUUUUKI!" Roxas whined with the annoying but determined pink-haired character on the screen. The tall, beautiful blonde man graced him with a cold, piercing golden eyed glare. 

"Why do you have to be so mean?!" Roxas exclaimed alongside Shuichi. He stood up and pointed a finger at the screen, mimicking the character's stance.

Ah, Gravitation. There was a time in every man's life where he had to choose an item to turn to when times were down. For Roxas, this show was it.

Roxas knew all the lines in all of the episodes, even in the OVA's. He also managed to retrieve a signed copy of the first Gravitation manga, and had the rest of the series to add to it. Not to mention the two books Maki Murakami wrote. And Roxas would never admit this to anyone, but he had all the doujin's too.

G/R/A/V/I/T/A/T/I/O/N was his anti-drug… which made no sense, seeing as Yuki smoked in every episode. But whatever.

"Gravitation, huh?" Axel's voice pierced through the silence, cutting Roxas' nerves like a knife. When the hell did he get there?!

"Axel!" Roxas breathed, clutching his heaving chest. "When did you arrive here?"

Axel smirked and leaned on the wall, regarding him with a mischievous look on his face. "I think it was when you were begging Yuki not to be so mean."

Roxas blushed and stiffly walked past him, leading him up the stairs to his room. He tried to ignore the feeling of being stared at by taking his mind off of his dying embarrassment.

"How exactly did you get in here? Did Hayner let you in?" Roxas asked wearily, trekking down the long extended hallway. The master bedroom was all the way at the end of it. Axel grinned behind him, quickly stashing a hair pin in his pocket.

"No, I let myself in. But he knows I'm here. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw me by the door." Axel explained, carefully leaving out the first question Roxas asked. Fortunately for him the blond was too focused on getting to his room to notice.

"Ah." Roxas acknowledged under his breath as he entered his empty, white room and indicated towards his closet. "Uh…So let's get to work, shall we?"

Axel followed Roxas' arm to the closed door, racking his brain for something to break the silence. He had a thing about awkward silences. He couldn't stand them.

"Why do you talk like that? Axel decided on asking, opening Roxas' closet. Roxas watched him, sitting on the edge of his bed. He thought about the question. He wasn't aware that he talked any different than the rest of them.

"I beg your pardon?" Roxas asked instead, leaning back on his elbows. Axel turned to him, a slight disbelieving look on his face.

"You mean you've never realized that you talk like a fifty year old man?" Axel replied curiously, pulling out three crisp linen blue short sleeved shirts. Roxas shrugged, nudging his video camera with his big toe.

"Just because I don't talk like_ you_, doesn't make me a fifty year old man. Stop judging people, it's bad for your conscience." Roxas frowned as Axel disappeared in his closet again.

"See…you even scold me like a fifty year old man." Axel called out from the closet, snatching more shirts. "You have an amazing wardrobe."

"Thank you, Axel." Roxas thanked him, sitting up and tilting his head to the side. He wanted to look at what he was wearing today.

"Alright, so why do you need me again?" Axel finally emerged from the closet with a pile of clothes in his arms. Roxas crawled over to where Axel was and glared at him. He thought he went through this already.

"I already told you. I have need of you because you are hip and cool. And for some strange reason I can't even begin to comprehend, you're special." Roxas explained slowly, like Axel was stupid and anything faster than that would be completely lost upon him.

"Oh. Yeah, well, I have some choices here for you." Axel blushed, picking up the crisp blue linen shirt and a black long sleeved shirt. "Try this on."

Roxas took the items from Axel's hands, still watching him curiously. He still didn't understand him at all. One second he was joking, the next he was blushing. One minute he was confident, the next minute he was insecure.

Roxas lifted the overly large shirt over his head, leaving him clad in his briefs and his bare chest. Axel did a double-take.

"You wear briefs?! You_ are_ a fifty year old man!" Axel exclaimed. 'And a sexy one too.' He thought to himself, eyeing Roxas' toned pale body like a boy at a candy store.

Wait WHAT?

"And when he isn't judging someone, he's applying stereotypes." Roxas mumbled under his breath, oblivious to the ogling. Axel thought it best to change the subject.

"Are you ready for school?" Axel asked nonchalantly, tossing him a pair of pressed ironed jeans. Honestly, who irons their jeans?

"School..? How inconvenient, I completely forgot about formal education…" Roxas cursed, falling back on his bed. "Damn it."

"So the boy cusses? Wow, maybe you're not a fifty year old man…I guess I can deduct ten years." Axel figured, lying next to him. Whoa! Roxas bed was mighty comfortable! More than his carpet! Roxas whacked him on the head with his pillow.

"Shut up." He said but he was laughing. Axel's laughter bubbled up inside of him as well. It was just…Roxas' laugh was so…so wonderful! It was like the spring, the fall, wind chimes and streams all wrapped up in one. It was beautiful.

"It really wasn't that funny. You need new jokes." Roxas informed him after he a while. A brief but comfortable silence followed.

"Well, you need to pay me for dressing you. You look great." Axel retorted. Roxas couldn't help but snort.

"That was a little late don't you think?" Roxas got up from the bed and looked at himself in the mirror. The blue really brought out his eyes and the black made him look more like the fifteen year old he really was. He looked suitable enough to fit in.

"Whatever. Say what you want, you still look great." Axel waved his hand in the air, tossing the rest of the vetoed clothes in the closet. 'Finally!' Roxas thought, 'I can see what he's wearing.'

Axel was wearing a long green tank top and had his hair tied back casually in a pony-tail. The black cargos he was wearing had two attached chains on them and his shoes were green Adidas. Axel looked great.

"Well, you look_ crazy_ great." Roxas complimented him, using Axel's favorite adjective. He looked up at him and smiled. Ha, who's the joking one now?

"Thanks for the truth. Not the compliment." Axel replied, returning the smile. Touché.

Another comfortable silence passed between them.

"Hey Axel…do you think communication is one of the key stages to a good relationship?" Roxas asked out the blue. Axel raised an eyebrow at him, his first instinct to tease him or say something smart, but he firmly reminded himself where he was. He was in Destiny Drive…he had a reputation of being a kind-hearted guy. He couldn't break that, not yet.

"Well, I know that relationships strive on love, and love isn't equal." Axel answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Roxas seemed to hear it.

"Could you explain your opinion further?"

"Someone loves, someone is loved. That's not equal. That's life."

It was silent as Roxas seemed to process this. Then a small smile threatened to erupt on his face.

"You were hurt in the past, weren't you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

* * *

"Alright, Hayner, I managed to snag five tickets to the Road to Dawn concert. All you have to do is give the tickets to Axel and convince him to invite Roxas." The woman in the phone explained carefully. 

"How did you get those tickets? They were sold out last I heard on the news." He mumbled, quietly speaking into the phone. He didn't want Roxas to overhear.

"The man gave them to me. And you know who I'm talking about. Supposedly he looked up your Axel on the net and found something he liked. He supports us." The woman answered nonchalantly. Hayner shifted uncomfortably.

"Right..." He trailed off, lost in thought. If Roxas found out he was consorting with the man, he would never forgive him. And that was a thought he couldn't bear.

"Listen, what is Roxas doing now?" The woman asked thoughtfully. Hayner shrugged, even though the woman couldn't see it.

"He's in his room with Axel. They're picking out clothes…and talking." Hayner replied, unable to keep the resentment and venom out of his voice. The woman laughed.

"Talking? Since when did Roxas 'talk'? Ah. Well, that's perfect for a plan. But I guess it sucks for you?"

"Yes, it sucks very much."

"Does it hurt?"

"Obviously…"

"Hasn't anyone told you?"

"What?"

"Love sucks! If it didn't, we wouldn't have invented condoms!" And with that last piece of knowledge, the woman hung up, leaving Hayner to ponder this statement. Finally, realization of what she meant by 'sucking' and 'condoms' hit him.

"Aw, gross!"

* * *

**Yeah...just ignore that last attempt at humor. Lol, teehee. The line "Someone loves, someone is loved. That's not equal." is from Yuki in Gravitation EX. I am a little obsessed with it now. Anywho, I should update the next chapter fairly quickly...**

**Next Stage: Admittance**


	4. Stage 4: Admittance

**Sorry this took so long to update! I know I said, 'I should update this soon' or something, and it's nearly three million years later! Forgive me!**

**Thanks again to Idrymytear54u for reviewing the last chapter! (Hmm...but I'm going to have to go into it a little...or maybe not...Idk, we'll see...so you didn't think my last lines of humor were stupid?! Wow...)**

**On a happy note, I'm finally getting to the action of this story, and I don't mean sexually! I have to let this develop slowly...but don't worry! It'll pick up...besides, there'll be a lot of chapters on this story hopefully.**

**Anyway...you can read now...**

* * *

"_Axel…" His best friend pleaded with him, blocking his exit. Axel sighed and looked to his shoes. He never wanted this. He didn't ask for this. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his best friend, his partner in crime, his soul mate._

"_Don't make this any harder than it has to be." Axel pleaded back, his tone even and unafraid. Half of his was worried his friend would cry, but the other half was trying not to cry himself. _

_Axel firmly pushed him out of the way, not enough to hurt him, but enough to let him know that no matter what he did or said, Axel was leaving; he meant business._

"_So that's it? Don't you see? He's controlling you! Leaving town will just give him the power over you that he wants!" His friend shouted, tears streaming down his face. And that was a sight Axel couldn't take anymore._

"_If you're ever in Fate Island… look me up." Those were the final words Axel said to him as he strode purposely down his driveway, one lone suitcase in his hand._

"_So you're giving up, Axel? How can you do this? How can you leave me? You...this isn't about him! This is about you! You're being a coward! You're running away! That isn't you! THAT ISN'T YOU, AXEL!" _

_Those were the final words of his friend._

_And despite the horrible experience his ex-boyfriend had supplied for him, this was the most heart-breaking moment he'd ever had._

**Stage Four: Admittance pt. 1**

"**Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.****"**

**-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), **_**Lincoln's Own Stories**_

It had been about two years since he first arrived, and Axel knew he still had yet to reveal his true self. Was that why he allowed people to confide in him? Was it because he had yet to do it himself? Whatever the reason, Axel had some serious self-evaluating to do.

He stretched out on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. The ceiling, minus the fan, was entirely covered in beautiful portraits of hair styles he had sketched, and Namine had painted. Axel had always been a skilled hair stylist, even before he moved here. Still, it never really became a permanent hobby until Fate Island.

Axel supposed one could say Fate Island brought out the best in him. The innocent side that was never shown around his old town; Demyx always told him he was Damien reincarnated. As if he could talk…

Demyx. The name of his old best friend brought back old memories with a pang. He and Demyx used to be inseparable. They had always been best friends, even in the womb. Their mothers had been best friends too…but Axel didn't want to get into that. He didn't want to think about his mother.

He supposed he should call Namine back, seeing that he accidentally hung up on her the other day.

After Axel and Roxas finished "communicating through apparel and speech" as Roxas called it, he offered to show the blond around the island, but Roxas politely declined.

"I'm a visual learner. I'll never learn my way around here unless I find it myself. Besides, I want to get some filming done. I already have an idea for a documentary." Was what Roxas told Axel, adding, "You can see your way out, okay?"

Axel felt a little stung after that one. Even thinking about it now, on his bed, three days later, he felt a little hurt. He had been nothing but nice to the new kid, introducing himself to him, making him look cool and offering to show him around.

And still, Roxas, although younger, treated him as if he were better than him. Roxas had some nerve, talking to him like that.

"I wouldn't want his nerve in a tooth." Axel grumbled, snatching his red Chocolate cell phone from its charger. Punching in the numbers he knew by heart, Axel waited patiently for his best friend to pick up.

No….it wasn't Demyx anymore…

"Hello?" Namine asked pleasantly into the phone, oblivious to the invisible arrow Axel had just stabbed himself in the heart with for thinking of Demyx.

"Hi, Namine…can we talk?" Axel pleaded desperately.

"About what, Axel? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. It's about me."

* * *

It had been three days since Roxas and Axel bonded over clothes but Roxas was already feeling the pain. Axel was the only friend he had so far in this island, so for the past three days, Roxas had been…well, lonely. 

He had never minded before, being alone. But now it was like once he had a taste of companionship, he couldn't get enough of it.

Roxas couldn't even hang out with Hayner, since he had been M.I.A. from the moment Axel had came over. He didn't understand. They used to be so close in the past, but now it was almost as if it hurt Hayner to be friends with him

True, Axel had asked him if he wanted a tour of the island, but Roxas had declined.

Why? Why had Roxas declined? The excuse he gave Axel was that he was a visual learner or something and he wanted to film. It was brief and sharp, and said in a tone that made Axel retreat to his house. What caused him to pull away?

"Fear...?" Roxas whispered to himself, pulling the cotton covers over his head. The clock next to him struck 12:00.

Yes, it was noon and he was still in bed! What? Couldn't a guy sleep in once in a while? Sure, he was Roxas Hiatus, academy-award winning director, but he was also fifteen years old!

Besides, he didn't have the will power needed to get out of bed. The fan was going, so it was cold out there in the real world. He'd much rather stay in The Bed That Never Was.

_Ding-dong!_

The doorbell…maybe Hayner would get it.

_Diiing-Doong!_

"Hayner?!" Roxas whined, feeling like a spoiled brat but too determined to stay in bed to care. But all that answered him was silence.

_DIIIIIIIIING-DOOOONG! _"Axel, dammit, don't you hear the doorbell ringing?!"

Axel? Roxas shot out of bed and sped to the curtain-less window, peering down at the newcomer. It was a silver-haired boy, his arms crossed and his stance radiating heat. He looked familiar, but since Roxas couldn't see his face, he couldn't tell where he knew him from.

Roxas padded down the stairs to the door, covering his mouth with his hands as to not offend. He had yet to brush his teeth. He unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey, you're not Axel." The guy cocked his head to the side, staring at him. Hmm…Roxas studied the stranger. His bangs were a little too long, as was his hair that was pulled back messily into a bun. He had pretty aqua-marine eyes that appeared to be full of cockiness, but kindness as well. But at the moment, they were filled with surprise.

"Nope, that I'm not…" Roxas answered into his hands. Riku scratched his head for a second. Then he leaned back, glancing over to where Axel's house was.

"He's next door, isn't he?" He confirmed, turning those pretty orbs back at him. Roxas nodded, itching to go get his camera and film his eyes.

"Oh…well, hey, you're the new kid, aren't you?" Riku asked on a more cheerful note, smirking at him. Roxas got the impression he did that a lot.

"Yes, I'm new to the neighborhood. But my name is Roxas, not new kid." Roxas made sure to point out. Riku's grin widened.

"Ah, looks like Axel found himself a feisty one. Well, I'm Riku. It's nice to meet you Roxas." Riku held out his hand for shaking, but seeing as though Roxas couldn't shake it, he lowered it into a shrug.

"So have you met anybody yet? Or have you been hiding in your house for the past, what, four days?" Riku suddenly asked him, brushing some hair out of his eyes unconsciously. Roxas, never one to be intimidated, shrugged as well.

"The latter; I've been unpacking all of my stuff for the past few days. It isn't a job to be taken lightly." Roxas explained, some of it coming out muffled. Riku laughed.

"How about you invite me in Roxas, and I let you brush your teeth so we can talk some more about the people I want you to meet." Riku suggested, leaning back a little on the balls of his heels patiently.

Roxas had to admit it; Riku's blunt confidence slightly intrigued him. If he invited Riku into the house, it would easy to film him while he talked. It wasn't like he was the type to object anyway.

* * *

"…so that's basically what I've become and why." Axel finished, eyeing the day old pizza on his kitchen counter that he forgot to refrigerate last night. He had long since left his room as he recounted his past to Namine, finding more comfort in a pint of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. 

His kitchen was like a diner. Because Axel lived by himself and had no particular preference to the house except for his room, each one of his friends had designed a room to fit their personalities. Sora, ever the eager chef, had designed the kitchen.

One section was like the cooking area of a restaurant, complete with multiple ovens and stoves. The other side of the kitchen was the diner portion, having 80's styled chairs and tables, complete with the bouncy sparkled red booths and a jukebox.

"Wow…Axel, I never realized." Namine breathed in astonishment. She would have never even considered that the Axel she knew, her best friend, was an entirely different person on the inside.

"Not many people do. Everyone thinks I'm this caring, considerate guy who listens to everyone's problems and gives great advice. The truth is, I'm not even one third of that guy. I've never been." Axel said, flopping down into one of the booths.

Axel vaguely wondered what Roxas would say to his real self. The _real_ Axel. Maybe he wouldn't talk down to him so much if he saw that Axel's personality was just as overwhelming as his was, if not in a different way.

"Axel, I want you to know. No matter who you were in the past, or who you're pretending to be now, I'll always be here for you, as your best friend." Namine insisted to him. Axel felt his heart swell a little bit. He basically just admitted that he was a bad person, and she was still trying to make him feel better? Namine was too good to be his best friend.

"Thanks." This thanks, however, was all he said. There was nothing else left to say. All had been said.

"Maybe Roxas can be a beginning." Namine suggested after a comfortable silence. At the name 'Roxas' Axel began to choke on the slice of old pizza he was eating. Did she know about his feelings?

"A beginning…?" He asked weakly, hesitance making him sound like a punk. And Axel Gauken was NOT a punk. He'd proved that along time ago.

"Yeah, like a beginning to bringing back the original Axel. If you could learn to be yourself around him, maybe you would be more prone to be yourself around us." Namine explained carefully. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Roxas hadn't been here long enough to even know the fake Axel. He wouldn't have to start over with him.

Besides, this would give him an excuse to hang with Roxas some more.

"So…how's the matchmaking going? Do I have a date with Foxy Roxy?"

"Namine!"

* * *

So ten minutes later, that's how Axel found himself standing in front of Roxas' house, a determined grin on his face. It was the same grin Axel had on his face all of the time back in the day. It seemed so long ago since he had smiled like this. 

So anyway. Axel was standing in front of the white door, his fist raised. That's when he heard it. Riku's quiet, slightly raspy laugh. Since when did Riku laugh? Since when did Riku and Roxas start hanging out? Is that the real reason that Roxas rejected his tour guide offer? To hang with the most popular boy on the island?

Axel shut his eyes. What was it that Namine told him again? Something along the lines of, 'don't screw this up'? He was fine. He could still do this with Riku there.

Working up his nerve, Axel slipped the hair pin from his mane of red hair and slid it into the door lock, quietly twisting it and turning it until it unlocked.

"And when you meet Namine, you're sure to be speechless. I mean, I don't think any straight guy has ever really denied her or anything…unless you're gay?" Riku was asking Roxas in that slick, casual drawl of his. Axel paused in the house, quietly shutting the door behind him. Was he?

"I'm not into-"

"What are you doing?" Axel jumped; the blond kid who wore army colors all the time. He had completely forgotten about Roxas' blond friend!

"I'm just…just visiting Roxas. I'm Axel." Axel introduced himself, holding out his hand for this friend of a friend to shake. The guy glanced down briefly at the hand before taking it into his own, shaking it stiffly.

"Axel. Yeah, you were here three days ago. I'm Hayner, Roxas' best friend and chauffeur. It anything happened to Roxas, I would responsible. So I try to make sure I know whoever it is breaking into our house." Hayner introduced himself, raising an eyebrow. Axel just shrugged and wretched his hand from Hayner's. Jeez, was he trying to kill his hand?

"Right. Well, I guess I better get in there, you know, and visit." Axel grinned nonchalantly and began to walk into the living room where he head voices. But Hayner reached out and clutched his shoulder, efficiently stopping him from proceeding. Axel growled.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He demanded, shrugging off Hayner's hand. Hayner regarded him evenly and held up five slips of paper. Axel squinted at them. Tickets? What, was he asking him out?

"Uh…" Axel began uncertainly. Hayner rolled his eyes and thrust them up closer.

"They're tickets to the Road to Dawn concert. You know, the concert with all the hot bands out right now, The Organization, Dive Deep, The Heartless, Mickey M.C. and so on…" Hayner trailed off upon noticing the dreamy look on Axel's face. Apparently he hit a sweet spot. Then suddenly the look morphed to suspicion.

"Wait…why are you giving them all to me?" Axel wanted to know even as he snatched the tickets and pocketed them. Hayner laughed.

"Just consider this a bonus to what will happen if you don't break Roxas heart. The farther you get with him, the better the rewards." Hayner smirked, watching Axel. He wondered what the red head would do. He seemed a little unpredictable.

"Roxas is priceless. Nothing you buy could ever compare to the reward of being Roxas' lover. But lucky for you, I don't think of your little blond friend in that way. I'm only looking for friendship…so you can keep your little prizes." Axel snapped, preparing to walk away. Hayner laughed again and uncrossed his arms.

"You still have my tickets." Hayner reminded him. Axel grinned at him.

"They were a gift. It would rude to give them back." He reasoned. Hayner shook his head and regarded him in amusement.

"It's physically impossible to just be friends with Roxas." Hayner called out, loud enough for Axel to hear as he walked away, but not loud enough for the two figures in the living room to notice. Axel swirled around to comment, but Hayner was already up the stairs and heading to his room.

Axel shrugged. He never said he wanted Roxas' heart. Jeez, this guy was serious. But still, at least he got some tickets out of it. Hayner was crazy anyway. He probably had some long unrequited crush thing going on.

He walked into the dinning room quietly behind Roxas, grinning at Riku. Unfortunately Riku was always incredibly easy to read, so his entire face seemed to be a mirror for Roxas to see someone behind him. He turned.

"Axel! Once again, how the hell are you getting into my house?! Is my lock broken?" Roxas exclaimed, standing up sharply and pointing at him accusingly. Axel grinned wider.

"Good to see you too Roxas."

Roxas paused mid-sentence, narrowing his eyes at him. Axel was acting different today. He was simply radiating confidence. It reminded Roxas of the Axel he had met the first day he moved in. The Axel he was so intrigued with.

"Axel man, where have you been? You've been skipping out on our daily meetings. The gang's worried. And I can't believe you haven't invited Roxas yet! You're trying to keep him for yourself, aren't you?" Riku exclaimed jokingly. Then he abruptly started to laugh. Roxas joined him, but it sounded hesitant somehow. Axel scowled. He was going to kill Riku when he had the chance.

"It must have slipped his mind." Roxas offered, shooting a beautiful glare in his direction. Axel winked at him. Even his glare was beautiful. Roxas blinked at his grin and looked away. Riku was silenced by this little exchange and leaned back on the plastic covered couch with a smirk.

"He can come with us today. You know, as my date." Axel declared, plopping down on the couch next to Roxas. The blond immediately blushed and tensed up. Axel laughed. Riku smirked at them and nodded.

"Well, its four thirty now. We should probably head on back to my crib before Namine gets there before I do and flips."

Roxas scratched his cheek, confused. "Why would this Namine, uh…'flip'?"

Axel had to refrain from laughing. Riku snorted a little, but answered the question nonetheless.

"I left a note on my door saying I was going to go kidnap Axel. Namine is pretty protective when it comes to her best friend, so I don't think she would appreciate my…well, attempts at persuasion."

Roxas and Axel both simultaneously leaned forward on the couch, staring at Riku with wide eyes. Riku blanched and flinched a little. Whoa that was creepy.

"Uh…what?" Riku frowned, uncomfortable under their mirrored gazes. Axel was the first to look away followed by Roxas, but only so he could turn up the volume on his video camera, which was still recording, by the way.

"Riku…you seem to care about Axel more than you let on. On any other citizen, kidnapping a friend would appear to be sick, and wretched. But when it becomes an addition to your outgoing, casual personality, it is a reflection of the love you have for my red-headed neighbor." Roxas commented absently, more to himself and the camera then to anyone else. But Riku and Axel were in a state of shock.

"Riku! I thought you said you liked Sora!" Axel burst out, looking incredulous. Riku jumped up, pointing his finger at Roxas' camera.

"I do! I only like you as a friend! He's the one going on and on about love and such!" Riku exclaimed. Roxas simply continued to film, hoping maybe they were about to have a fight or something. This was what he was waiting for! Inspiration!

"Well, don't fret…I love you too, man." Axel said softly, exaggerating the tenderness of the moment. "You're the peanut to my butter!"

Riku pretended to sniff, wiping away invisible tears. "You're the grape to my jelly!" Both of the boys embraced, patting each other's backs with awkwardness they didn't feel.

Roxas stiffened at the affectionate gesture, lowering his camera and staring at them. What was this? Why were the not fighting and 'slamming each other's faces to tomorrow' as Axel put it? This made no sense! Roxas had never witnessed…he had never seen….

He couldn't comprehend this!

_The brick came down on him almost as fast as lighting touches the ground._

Roxas dropped the camera, clutching his head. He could faintly hear the voices of Axel and Riku in the distance, but he couldn't focus on it.

"_Yes again! And we'll continue to do this again until you become what I need you to become! Don't you understand, Roxas? Don't you understand what you must do?"_

What was Roxas doing here? He should be on the streets, finding inspiration in the broken beer bottles and homeless poor citizens that crawled to him, begging for money and solitude. Ah yes…it had been so long since he had seen violence so sweet…so _delicious_.

_The man did not teach him humanity._

_Therefore Roxas did not have it._

Yes…Roxas could taste the blood, inhale the metallic scent…

"Roxas! Breathe Roxas!"

Was that Axel's voice? Axel…

"_Violence is beauty."_

No! He had to fight this…this sick obsession! It wasn't worth it!

"He isn't breathing, Riku!"

"Try hitting him!"

A controlled slap made its way across his face. Roxas felt his eyes darken, his whole posture change. No…no, no, no, no, no, he couldn't let him out!

_Come on Roxas…let me out. I'll show you what real beauty is._

His voice…it was so persuasive…

Roxas breathed.

Axel and Riku both let out a huge sigh of relief. Axel pulled his body close to his, shaking his head. Riku hung up his cell phone, in the mist of calling 911.

"Roxas don't ever do that again! It's called BREATHING. You have to do it continually to, you know, LIVE?" Axel shouted, releasing him. Roxas still hadn't said anything, and Axel thought maybe it had something to do with his touching him.

"Where's Roxas?" Riku suddenly asked, frowning at the boy. Axel turned to Riku, a questioning look in his eyes. But Riku only continued to stare at Roxas.

"Riku, what are you talking about? Roxas is right-"

"My name…is Reixas." Roxas, err Reixas declared darkly. He brushed past Axel, pushing him into a wall from the brute force of his shoulder. Axel, too shocked to be angry, stared at this…this Reixas with confused eyes.

He wasn't Roxas, though he looked exactly like him. Riku, however, wasn't shocked enough to not be angry, and he charged towards Reixas, ignoring the video camera recording all of this happily.

Reixas punched Riku at the right moment, filming Riku as he hit the ground from the sheer strength and impact. Axel rushed to Riku. He was knocked out. Reixas continued to film as Axel looked up at him, anger and hurt reflected in those bright green eyes.

Reixas shook his head and slowly made his way to the door, zooming in at the blood gushing from his mouth. Shock was still freezing Axel to the core; he was unable to even think. What was happening?

"Take care of yourself. Roxas seems to like you more than he likes himself." Reixas told him coldly, switching his frigid gaze from behind the camera to Axel's eyes. Axel shivered.

And with those last words, Reixas was gone, leaving only a shivering Axel and an unconscious Riku in his wake.

* * *

**Reixas huh...so you know, originally I was going to do an anagram of Roxas' name, but there aren't many names out there that spell Roxas or Sora X. Or maybe there are. Or maybe this isn't very important. Or maybe this story is deeper than you thought...!**

**Next stage: Admittance pt. 2**


	5. Stage 5: Admittance pt 2

**Wow, I am such a liar, eh? **

**Sorry about the confusion, folks, but just as I was about to take down this story, I happened to reread some of it. And I decided, hey, with the right adjustments to previous chapters, and a good step in the right direction (discluding this chap because this one is more of an intro), this could potentially become a good fic!**

**So yeah, as I said, this chapter is short, and actually more of an intro into the heart of the story- which is kinda a new direction, but more of that later. Really, for all of you still reading this...thank you so, so much. I appreciate your sticking with me through the thick and thin.**

**Special thanks to Pandablubb for the review on chapter four (the characters are very important to me- so that means a lot!), and thanks to** **po1zenedtear5 for words of encouragement in my time of need. I actually think I may have mistaken you for someone else in my special thanks for Chapter 3, so if that was the case, I'm very sorry.**

**Without further ado...the long awaited update!**

* * *

Roxas slowly opened his eyes. He felt wasted. His head felt like a pile of bricks, and his stomach was churning in the most painful way possible. What the hell happened?

**Stage Five: Admittance pt. 2**

"**In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.****"**

**  
**-**Albert Schweitzer**

Roxas moaned. What was going on? His head was cloudy; he couldn't remember a thing. Come to think of it, he couldn't even think.

At least, that was before the feel of a warm body spooning his own registered in his mind.

"AHH!" Roxas screamed, twisting away from the body and effectively falling out of what now appeared to be a queen sized bed. The figure that had been spooning him jumped up as well, starting for him. Roxas sensed the movement and jumped back even more. But as he did, his back hit another body, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Oh…so, uh, I see you're awake?" A musical, slightly crackly voice asked from the bed. Roxas glared in his direction. His sight was coming back and his headache was fading. The boy who had spoken was now sitting up straight on the mattress, smiling nervously at him.

Appearance wise, the guy appeared to be about his age or older, with a strange mullet and Mohawk combo for hair and light teal eyes that seemed to just sparkle.

"I'm Demyx." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for Roxas to shake. He eyed it wearily. His inner automatic mature-ness begged to shake the hand, but his fifteen year old spider senses were telling him to figure out just who this stranger was and why he was here.

It simply wasn't proper, however, for Roxas to have acted the way he did. He had to atone.

"My name is Roxas Hiatus, and I truly apologize for the way I acted. It was not in your best interest, nor mine, and I am sorry. May I inquire as to why I am located in this environment?" Roxas asked politely. Demyx stared at him before blinking not once, not twice, but three times. Then, scratching the back of his head, he smiled.

"Yeeeeah...whaaaat?" He drawled in confusion. Roxas face fell. Did he stutter? The guy that he'd run in to earlier was chuckling behind him and Roxas turned sharply to him. What was the problem?

"You'll have to excuse him Roxas. He's prone to confusion at any word longer than five letters. I'm Zexion." He introduced himself, "And I can answer your questions."

"But after we all go out for coffee and croissants, because I am starving so bad I could eat a freaking horse!" Demyx whined, tugging Roxas out the door.

* * *

Sora watched silently as Riku ranted and cursed and badmouthed the new kid like he was some kind of disease. He knew Riku was protective of him, and as Riku had indicated many, many times in his ranting, he didn't want him to have anything to do with this "Roxas." But Sora didn't know what to expect. Riku had a tendency to…over exaggerate things. So what Riku might have perceived as "violent" could have just been a small little poke.

Riku looked over at him sharply. "Don't give me that look Sora; I'm not over exaggerating this time. This time I'm for real. You need to stay away from him."

Sora could feel an argument coming on. "I haven't even met the guy! I'm just saying that maybe I should go over there and meet him, to decide if he's "scum" for myself."

Riku scowled at him. "Why can't you follow orders like a normal person?"

Sora scowled back, although it probably didn't have the same effect. He had a baby face; he was man enough to admit it. "Why can't you stop _giving _orders like a normal person?"

They glared at each other for a long time. Sometimes Sora wondered how they ended up best friends. Just look at them now; fighting over a new kid! Sora didn't even know the guy! It just seemed like they were always fighting over something petty and unimportant like this. He felt like there was always this wall between them that caused them to disagree, but he couldn't figure out why.

Riku finally sighed and shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look Sora, I'm not your damn mother. If you want to go meet the psycho for yourself, go ahead. Just don't come crying to me when you end up hurt."

Sora watched as Riku strode out the room angrily. Part of him wanted to run after him; he was only looking out for him, after all. But another part wanted to punch him in the face. He hated how Riku always made him feel this way. Whenever they had a disagreement or a fight, Sora's heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces.

Sora clutched his chest and shut his eyes. Why was Riku having this effect on him?

* * *

Axel stared down at the tickets in his hand. He was still kind of confused. What the fuck just happened? He tried talking to Riku about it, but Riku was still too pissed off to do much of anything but rant. It'd be best to let him cool down.

Axel sighed and fell back on his bed. Hayner had tried to get him to stay for a little while longer so he could "explain Roxas' situation," but Axel refused. It was obvious that the little director had some kind of mental problem, one that Axel did NOT need to be getting himself into. He had problems of his own, dammit!

But who the fuck was Reixas? Did Roxas have some kind of split personality disorder?

Axel yelled out in frustration and slammed a pillow into his face. He had to stop thinking about this! HE HAD HIS OWN PROBLEMS!!

Axel stood up and turned his TV on, only to see it playing Gravitation. He smiled a little. He remembered walking in on Roxas' reenacting a Gravitation scene. He had just looked so…young. And that was hard to find on Roxas, what with his stiff and proper personality.

Fuck.

He was doing it again. Axel turned off his TV and picked up his knapsack, stuffing the tickets inside. Alright, he would admit it. He was worried about Roxas, or Reixas...whatever. He was worried.

"So anyway, I had been walking down the back alley, because I always give food out to the poor and unfortunate at that time, when I saw your body lying in the middle of the street. You were beat up pretty badly. I thought about calling the police, but the second I touched you, you sprang back up to life with no scratch on you. I guess my eyes aren't what they used to be." Demyx explained, taking a sip of his coffee as the three sat in the downtown Starbucks.

Roxas furrowed his brow and looked down into his Latte. He must have turned into that…that monster again. Reixas. He tightened his grip on the cup. If only he could rid of him…

"I don't think it was your eyes, Dem." Zexion assured him, turning to Roxas was a contemplative look in his eyes. "Was it, Roxas?"

Roxas rubbed his temples. "Of course it wasn't."

"Then do you plan to enlighten us? Because I for one am very curious." Zexion practically snapped, causing Demyx to put a hand over the blunt boy's mouth and give Roxas an apologetic smile.

"You'll have to excuse him, Roxas. He's a very grouchy person, you know. I think we're just kind of confused as to how you can just _heal_ yourself like that. But we respect your right to not tell us." Demyx rambled, trying to make up for Zexion's rudeness. Roxas leaned back in his chair and fished out his sunglasses, slipping them on even though they were inside a building.

"Alright then. I won't tell you." He sighed with an air of arrogance. Zexion narrowed his eyes at him and bit Demyx's finger, all out glaring at the little blonde.

"Speak for yourself, Dem." Zexion hissed, "Because I sure as hell want to know; screw his rights, we're the ones housing his ass."

Roxas' shades fell down his nose and his mouth fell open. No one had spoken to him like that since, since…

His heart stopped and a panicked feeling made its way into his chest. Where was Axel right now? Was he okay? Did he hurt him? What did Reixas do?

"Alright, I'll tell you. But only if you do me a favor first."

* * *

Axel chewed on his lower lip nervously. What was he doing here? Roxas, or Reixas or whatever was obviously psycho. So why couldn't he stop worrying about him?

This was fine. He would just go in, see if Roxas ever came home and be out before his hesitation had a chance to catch up with him. Just as his fist was about to hit the door, a flash of approaching silver caught his eye. Riku?

"Riku, what're you-" Axel began before Riku's fist pounded roughly on the door, effectively shutting him up.

"I got in a fucking fight with Sora about that little punk Roxas, or Reixas or whatever his fucking name is. He thinks I'm overacting when I told him to stay away from him." Riku ground out, before his expression softened and his voice became tenderer. "I know he thinks I'm just being an asshole, but it's only because I care. He's so emotionally fragile…I don't want anyone, especially not some unstable new kid, to hurt him."

Axel blinked at him before giving him a knowing smile. "You really love Sora, don't you?"

Riku rolled his eyes and rung the doorbell. "What tipped you off?"

Axel was just about to retort with something so fitting for his past-self, yet so out of character for this new one, when the door swung open quickly. Hayner stood in front of them in all his cameo glory, looking like the ice cream man just rolled up into his driveway.

"Roxas?!" He cried eagerly, his eyes searching for the indicated boy. Axel rolled his inwardly, but Riku, not so conspicuous, merely scoffed and shoved his way inside the house.

"You wish." He muttered, striding into the living room. Axel followed Riku, giving Hayner an apologetic shrug, but as he passed by he couldn't help but overhear a phrase that would later become a key clue to Hayner's feelings for Roxas.

"I _do_ wish when it comes to Roxas. So, so much."

* * *

Zexion parked his car in front of Roxas house with flourish. Roxas nervously got out the car and led the way to the door, wondering just what the hell he was doing. He just met these two guys today, and already he was going to reveal himself?

What if they didn't understand? No matter, he would have to try. A promise was indeed a promise, and that was something he was going to have take responsibility for.

"Oh, your house needs a lot of work done!" Demyx pointed out unnecessarily, eyeing a swinging shudder that was only attached by one hinge. Zexion nudged him and gave him a warning look.

"Dem, you know it's polite to point out how much someone's house sucks." He hissed, giving Roxas a sympathetic look. Roxas merely scowled at him. Whatever.

Roxas turned the knob to see that his door was already unlocked. How queer…maybe that was how Axel had been able to get in thus far. Or maybe Hayner just forgot to lock it all of this time.

As Roxas led Demyx and Zexion to the living room, where he planned to explain himself, he could hear voices resonating from the room. Was someone visiting Hayner?

"Hello Hayner! I have returned; so sorry to keep you worrying like that. I-" Roxas began as he entered the room, only to stop, stunned, at the sight of two unexpected visitors. Axel and Riku. The two guys he could vaguely remembering talking to last before he went all Jeckle and Hide.

His eyes almost immediately flew to Axel's. "Hello…Axel."

Axel eyed him uneasily and didn't meet his gaze. "Sup."

Hayner looked between the two before his eyes finally wandered to the two boys gazing shockingly at the red head seated across from him. He waved a hand in a small little greeting, but both of them remained transfixed. He cleared his throat.

"Uh…hi. Who are you?" He finally asked when the silence got just a tad bit too uncomfortable for his liking.

"Axel?" Demyx gasped, his voice sounding breathless even to his own ears. Axel's eyes widened as he took in the new visitors for the first time. He unconsciously backed farther away from them on the couch, right into Riku's lap. Riku made an irritated sound in the back of his throat, but didn't make any attempts to push him off. He could sense fear when it was there.

"Axel…" Zexion finally managed to choke out, reaching out a hand as if he wanted to touch him. Axel's brow furrowed and he frowned at the two.

"What are you…what are you two doing here?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes at them. Demyx looked hurt at the expression, but Zexion was still staring mesmerized at Axel.

"You're even more beautiful than when I last saw you." Was the first coherent sentence that ripped its way out of his mouth. Demyx looked away for a second and chewed his lip. Axel just folded his arms and shrugged.

"Whatever. Is that all you have to say after all these years?" He wanted to know with an edge in his voice. Hayner and Roxas exchanged confused glances before Riku finally spoke up; he was a brash as ever.

"Well someone _please _tell me what the hell is going on here? Because this feels way too much like an episode of Jerry Springer, and I'd like to know a little bit more before I start screaming FIGHT, FIGHT."

* * *

**Well...compared to Klutz, this fanfic is virtually empty. So just putting this out there- reviews really do encourage me. Lack of reviews had been one determining factor in almost quitting this story. So if you read this fic, and you like it...I would love for you to review. I would really appreciate the effort and consideration...okay, that's all.**

**Next stage: Admittance pt. 3 (lol, the next one is the last admittance chapter-really!)**


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